The ViewSonic PX701-4K is a 4k HDR projector primarily marketed for gaming. It has two HDMI 2.0 ports, both capable of either 4k @ 60Hz or 1080p @ 240Hz. The projector also comes with an Ultra-Fast Input option promising input lag as low as 4.2ms. The projector has auto vertical keystone technology to eliminate trapezoid effects when installed at an angle and an advanced projection warping tool that corrects distorted images when they're projected on a curved surface. Depending on the selected picture mode, its light source is rated for anywhere from 6,000 to 20,000 hours. Finally, it has an integrated 10W speaker.
Our Verdict
The ViewSonic PX701-4K is alright for watching movies. Its native contrast is great, and its brightness is decent, leading to a good viewing experience in a dark room. Unfortunately, the projector drops the ball when it comes to color, as its colors are dim, its color gamut isn't very wide, and its color accuracy is wildly inaccurate out of the box. You can barely improve it with calibration.
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Good contrast for a pleasant viewing experience in dark rooms.
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Poor color accuracy out-of-the-box, which you can't really improve through calibration.
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Colors are dim and uninspiring.
- 6.8 Movies
- Updated Aug 07, 2024: Mentioned the newly-reviewed BenQ HT3560 in the Pre-Calibration Color Accuracy section of this review.
- Updated Jun 26, 2024: This projector's contrast score changed after the recent 0.9 TBU update, requiring some adjustments to the Compared To Other Projectors and Contrast sections.
- Updated Jun 25, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench 0.9. We've overhauled our Contrast tests, as we now measure contrast at various average pixel levels (APL). You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Feb 13, 2024: Review published.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the ViewSonic PX701-4K. This projector has a higher-end model, the ViewSonic PX701-4KE, which has a 1.3x optical zoom feature and a shorter throw ratio, allowing you to install it closer to the wall or screen.
Our unit was manufactured in June 2023; you can see the label here.
Compared To Other Projectors
The ViewSonic PX701-4K is an okay 4k HDR projector. It's especially interesting for gamers, as it's one of the cheapest projectors on the market with 1080p @ 240Hz support, alongside a sharp image due to its 4k pixel-shifting capabilities. If you're solely interested in a cheap projector for movies, you could opt for the slightly cheaper Epson Home Cinema 1080, as it's much brighter than the ViewSonic and much more accurate. Still, the ViewSonic isn't a bad choice for home theater as it has much better contrast than the Epson. Overall, the ViewSonic is extremely versatile, and its only real weaknesses are its poor color accuracy and mediocre color gamut.
See our recommendations for the best projectors for home theater and the best home projectors. If you're looking for something more general, look up our list of the best projectors instead.
The Optoma UHD35 is a bit better than the ViewSonic PX701-4K. They're very similar projectors, with both capable of 1080p @ 240Hz for gaming. However, the ViewSonic has significantly worse color accuracy than the Optoma, and the Optoma also has a slightly wider color gamut, giving it the edge over the ViewSonic.
The ViewSonic PX701-4K and BenQ HT3550 are about equally as good, although the ViewSonic is much better for gaming due to its 1080p @ 240Hz support. Otherwise, both projectors are 4k pixel-shifting units, with the BenQ having a much wider color gamut, while the ViewSonic has the edge in contrast. Ultimately they're both capable in a variety of contexts, but the ViewSonic is better if you're hoping to game, while the BenQ has the slight edge for content consumption due to its wider color range.
The ViewSonic PX701-4K is slightly better than the Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01. The ViewSonic projector is particularly interesting to gamers with its 1080p @ 240Hz support, while the Epson is aimed more at office use. Still, the Epson is much brighter and has vastly better color accuracy, although the ViewSonic's contrast is much better, making it the superior choice for watching movies in dark rooms. The ViewSonic also delivers sharper images through 4k pixel shifting, while the Epson projects a much lower 1280 x 800 image.
The ViewSonic PX701-4K is better than the BenQ HT3560 if you don't care about image accuracy; if you do, then the BenQ HT3560 is the better option, as the ViewSonic is very inaccurate and can't be improved much through calibration. Otherwise, the ViewSonic has a better contrast ratio, offering a better movie-watching experience in dark rooms. The BenQ has a much wider color gamut, but neither projector is bright enough to make their colors pop. They both support 1080p @ 240Hz for gamers, alongside 4k @ 60Hz through pixel shifting.
The ViewSonic PX701-4K is better than the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12. The ViewSonic projector is good for gamers with its 1080p @ 240Hz support. It's also brighter and has better contrast, but the Epson has vastly better color accuracy. The ViewSonic can also deliver sharper images through 4k pixel shifting, while the Epson projects a much lower 1080p image. The Epson has significantly more smart features, has an integrated smart interface with full Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, and is more portable.
The ViewSonic PX701-4K is slightly better than the XGIMI HORIZON for watching movies due to its superior contrast, and is also much better for gaming due to its 1080p @ 240Hz capabilities. Both projectors are wildly inaccurate before calibration, and while you can't improve the XGIMI enough with calibration to make it truly accurate, the ViewSonic, for its part, can barely be improved at all, so it's still very inaccurate post-calibration.
The ViewSonic PX701-4K is better than the XGIMI Elfin, although the XGIMI is smaller and has significantly more features than the ViewSonic. However, the ViewSonic projector is particularly interesting to gamers, as it has 1080p @ 240Hz support. The ViewSonic is also significantly brighter and has slightly better contrast, but it has truly terrible colors. The XGIMI is dimmer but doesn't have the ViewSonic issues with colors. It's much smaller, more portable, and has a smart interface with full Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support.
The BenQ X3100i is much better than the ViewSonic PX701-4K. They're both primarily marketed for gaming and thus have many gaming features. Still, while they both support 4k @ 60Hz and 1080p @ 240Hz, only the BenQ supports 1440p @ 120Hz. Furthermore, the BenQ is a fully featured smart projector with an integrated smart OS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth support, all of which the ViewSonic lacks. Finally, the BenQ has significantly better image quality, with better contrast and brightness, is more accurate, and has a wider color gamut.
Test Results
The ViewSonic PX701-4K is somewhat portable due to its fairly compact and lightweight body, although without an integrated battery. The projector has automatic vertical keystone correction and manual horizontal correction, although it lacks an autofocus. It does have an integrated 10W speaker in case you need to move it.
This DLP projector uses a lamp as its light source, which can last from 6000 to about 20,000 hours, according to the manufacturer, after which you'll need to swap the lamp for a new one. It's not a true 4k projector, as it uses pixel shifting to create a higher-resolution image. This offers better quality than a pure 1080p projector but isn't as good as a native 4k projector.
The average peak brightness of this projector is decent, although the sides of the image are slightly dimmer than the center. Unfortunately, bright, saturated colors are significantly dimmer than pure white, so colors don't pop.
The ViewSonic PX701-4K has good native contrast, leading to a pleasant viewing experience in a dark room, even if its blacks aren't inky.
Unfortunately, this projector has poor color accuracy out-of-the-box. The white balance is decent, but blues tend to be overrepresented in most shades of gray, and the near blacks are completely undersaturated. Colors are terrible, though, as almost no color is displayed accurately. The projector is too dark in darker scenes and too bright in all other scenes. Thankfully, the color temperature is great, even if it leans slightly on the cold side. If you want a more accurate gaming projector, consider the BenQ HT3560 instead.
Unfortunately, you can't improve this projector's color accuracy much due to its limited calibration options. After calibration, the projector is still too dark in darker scenes but fine in brighter ones. The color temperature is now almost exactly on target, and the white balance is better, with fewer accuracy errors. Unfortunately, the color accuracy is still terrible.
This projector's color gamut is passable. Its coverage of the Rec. 709 color space used in SDR content is good, but it truly struggles with the wider Rec. 2020 color space used in HDR content.
